Greetings readers. Therashae and sassykitten1701 are back with some action. If you don't like drama, or crack ships, or laughing stop reading right now and go away. If you aren't familiar with the OCs in this work you need to go read Desna's stories and then come back and start over. If you think anyone outside of Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail you are to young to read this story. Roll film!
××Overkill Fieldtrip××
Erza was beginning to get a headache. Not only did they have Natsu and Gray bickering, but Gajeel and Bickslow were even louder. She hadn't thought that was possible. How did Laxus tolerate it? She glanced at her fellow S-class wizard. Magical headphones, that's how.
"So why are we here again?"
"Because this is where they 'first met' The Oracion Seis who are 'most' of Crime Sorciere now. Weren't you listening?"
"Nah. I heard Cosplayer say 'Here's the plan' and after that it all blurred together."
"Don't you ever take anything seriously you cackling jack in the box!"
"I happen to enjoy my life. Unlike some rusty corroded boulders." Gajeel roared and launched himself at Bickslow who let out an almost girly scream as the two dissapeared over a familiar cliff, babies trailing behind.
"Lucy, am I the only one with deja vu?"
"No. That's the same path Natsu took our first time here." Natsu abandoned his fight with Gray at the sound of his name.
"What path? We've been here before?" Lucy punted him after the two wizards who they could still hear. Erza couldn't blame her.
"Gray, if you would?"
"Ice Make Slide!" The half of the Thunder Legion left at the top of the cliff skipped the slide in favor of their own teleportation spells, but Erza and Lucy followed Gray.
The sound of maniacal laughter, echoed by yelps and even louder curses had the Fairy Tail mages exchanging bewildered looks even as they prepared to attack whatever was at the bottom of the cliff that they hadn't quite seen yet. Barely a moment later had everyone relaxing, and stifling their own bursts of laughter.
The pile of tangled wizards, with Natsu sitting quite proudly on top of them with a toothy grin, were cursing colorfully as they struggled to get up, only to be met with a solid flame covered fist knocking them back down.
"Do we even WANT to know what the hell happened?" Lucy huffed, cocking a hip and crossing her arms with a lifted brow. Laxus snorted in amusement and almost smiled at the scene before them.
Just barely managing to stop laughing, Cobra managed to bark out between snorts. "Ask Ironhide and Doll Freak, we were just getting here when we heard fighting and just as we looked up, those two imbeciles landed on Bueballs, quickly followed by Flame-dick!"
Letting out an aggravated sigh, Lucy strode forward, grabbed Natsu by his ear and yanked him from his bucking throne, ignoring his help of pain before carelessly tossing him to the ground. He sprawled there with a pout, rubbing his ear and glaring, even as she ignored him and turned toward the rest of the group with a small smile, glad to see that Midnight was actually awake and upright.
"Hopefully all of you weren't waiting too long." Erza cut in before Lucy could say anything, even as she reached down to yank the others to their feet, shutting up the curses they tried to give her with a simple glare.
"No worries, Erza, like Cobra said, we were just getting here when those three fell from above." Meredy said with a warm smile, running her gaze over all of them, ignoring the knowing glance Cobra gave her when her eyes hesitated for a moment too long on one particular mage.
"Alright, so now that we're all here, please tell me that someone at least has a seed of a plan." Midnight grumbled, leaning back against a large boulder to cross his arms. He wanted to get this mission over with and move on, get away from the person innocently causing him pain by being so close. Looking up from where he was kicking his heel against the boulder, he was quick to glare at the smirk that was thrown over his best friends shoulder. Damn his soul hearing!
"Who needs a plan when we can just go in there and beat 'em to a pulp!" Laxus zapped Natsu, who then groaned up from the ground. "Luce has a plan. She always has a plan, right Luce?"
"And you never follow it!" Lucy sighed. "All we know about this asshole guild is what Mr Mysterious told us in his note. They've been quietly growing in numbers and strength and for whatever reason they now have hostages. If you guys have more info to share that would be cool. Otherwise there's fifteen of us, twenty if you count Bix's babies. We should split into groups of three and do a perimeter check, placing runes or traps as we go. Four of the groups pick a direction, north, south, east, and west, and the fifth group be aerial or hold a base camp for us. Bix, if your babies are ok with it, one of them could go with each of us so we have a means to communicate quietly." Lucy stated firmly, running her eyes over the gathered mages, already mentally sorting them into groups.
"Fine by us, Cosplayer. I can fly with one baby, but we don't have Ever to fill out a three man aerial team. The Boss's lightning doesn't work that way and Lump-of-rock can't get off the ground." Gajeel growled at him.
"My flight armor would allow me to join you and give you a melee fighter on your team."
"Exactly. And we could have a dragon slayer on each ground team that way."
"If we left the rest of your team together then..."
"Actually, Jellal, that might not be best. I think we want at least one Fairy and one Witch on each team. We think differently. It will give us an extra edge."
"But Luce..."
"Blondie's right."
"I too, agree with Lucy."
"In that case I volunteer to go with the nightlight kids." Lucy giggled, but the rest of the group stared at Cobra blankly. He sighed. "Midnight and Lucy you idiots. It makes sense if you bother thinking about it. Besides it will be funny." The night half of the nightlight glared at him. Gray opened his mouth to protest. "Don't worry, we'll keep your precious Tinkerbell safe."
"Lucy, is this acceptable to you?"
"Sure, why wouldn't it be?"
"You do have a history..."
"Jellal, I have a history with everybody. Besides Gray and I are the only non-slayer Fairies on the ground teams and I guaranty Gray and Cobra would be at eachother's throats the minute they walked out of camp. If Cobra thinks Midnight rounds out our group best I trust his judgment on that."
"You really thought I was stupid enough to try and make her do something she didn't want to do? We all know that doesn't work." Every wizard present flinched. They all knew what happened when you tried to do that, most of them first hand.
"You say that like I'm a scary person." The group gave her the same look Laxus had in Gramps office. Lucy didn't get it. "Ok. Anyway. Meredy, would you be ok working with Gajeel? Whatever team he is on could use your... sensability." The pinkette shrugged.
"Sure. Does that make Gray our third?"
"Well," Lucy nibbled at her lip and glanced at Cobra who chuckled and nodded at her idea. "Gray is the only Fairy who is familiar with Angels current magic, so I was hoping they would be willing to work together..."
"I refuse to work with the stripper." Lucy glared.
"I anticipated that, Laxus. Angel do you think you could handle Gray and Natsu? You may have to go full on bitch mode to keep them in line, but I think you are woman enough for the job." Natsu tried to say he didn't need handled only to fall silent when Angel gave the two boys in question a dark grin.
"If you can handle those two I can handle these two." Lucy raised a single raised eyebrow at the half asleep reflector mage and the grinning slayer beside him.
"Are they really that bad?" Cobra cackled and a Racer groaned.
"They are best friends. Midnight doesn't sleep all the time you know."
"Shut your feather clad face, Angel." The glare he was giving her was far less than sleepy.
"She deserved to be warned before she wanders around in the wilderness with you two."
"At least I'm a civilized human being and not some sort of beast like..."
"You sure? Because what I just heard was pretty beastia..." Cobra suddenly threw himself away from Midnight, dodging a move that hadn't happened yet, but once in motion his whole body swung back around against his will to connect his face to Midnight's fist. Lucy's hands flashed out to catch one of Cobra's ears and the other snagging Midnight's single white braid. She sank down to the ground dragging them with her. She then shifted so she was leaning back against Midnight's chest and her legs were drapped over Cobra's lap, effectively pinning them in place unless they were willing to risk hurting her. She released them as soon as she was comfortable and they stopped struggling, which was almost instantly.
"So that leaves Racer and Richard with Laxus and Jellal with Meredy and Gajeel." Lucy was completely oblivious to the shocked and disbeleiving looks on her new teammates faces, though she did see Jellal giving her a worried look. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks Laxus and Jellal should be split up for balance of power reasons. Do we have any more info on the creepers we are hunting?" Jellal seemed to grow more serious before he spoke.
"We tracked them into the mountains near on the edge of the Wood Sea, part of the reason we asked you to meet us here. We haven't pinpointed their location any better than that. They may even have more than one branch up there. They have the numbers for it. The problem is..." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "When I said hostages it might have been an understatment." Cobra snorted.
"Understatment my ass. They have a whole damn town. Straight up took them right out of their beds. I didn't hear them coming and Racer wasn't fast enough to catch a single one. They hit the town suddenly and then fucking dissapeared."
××Overkill Fieldtrip××
Five sets of eyes looked down at the gathered mages below them, watching, just far enough back on the overhang that if any of the mages below looked up they wouldn't have been able to see them. Close enough for some of their group to overhear the discussion yet far enough away that they hadn't yet been heard by the poison slayer over the noise the crowd below was making.
"Are we just going to hang around with our hands down our pants or are we going to go?" One man huffed, twirling a small blade around his hand, utterly bored.
"You can shut it you ass, you shouldn't even fucking be here." A pair of bi-colored eyes rolled before focusing once more, pushing his magic carefully and with gentle encouragement had an owl hopping closer to the group of mages down below, trying to hear what he knew two of their group could hear almost as if they were already down with the other mages.
"Too late now, I have the job I have for a reason, I can hide even from my family. Besides, a chance to take out a large target that the Steel Council hasn't had a heavy hand in? You think I'm going to miss out on this?" The man's voice was smug before he bit back a yelp at the solid hand that clapped him upside the back of his head.
"As much as it irritates me to admit this, he's got a point. He'll be able to provide a distraction at the very least." A tall, light haired woman admitted, crossing her arms and closing her eyes as she leaned back against the boulder behind her. "Are we going to tell them we're here?"
"Not yet. I want to see how they handle this before getting involved. If we had known they would be here, we may not have needed to come after all." A tall man, with long dark hair, and deep blue eyes sighed, tucking his hands into the pockets of his pants even as he rocked back on his heels before glancing over at the fifth of their group. She was the smallest, quietest of them, but knew that she would be just as fierce as any of them in her fighting. "Be ready in case they end up needing help with any possible injuries."
"Duh. You really think I'd let any of them suffer for long if I can help it?" The smaller woman snarked, glaring up at her taller companion.
"No, I know better than that, though a couple of them down there you might want to smack around a bit with their attitudes."
"Thick skin thanks to you and the others, I'll survive. Fary Tail is obviously here, but do we know who the others are?" Both dark haired men shook their heads. Turning back to run her water colored eyes on the group below, she smirked. "Shall we go? They've split up as we thought they would, I call the group with the pink haired male. If that's who I think it is they might need me."
"I'll take the pink haired chicks group, wouldn't mind seeing how that turns out." The man who had been playing with the knife claimed before melting into the shadows.
"I'll head for the large blond then. He might prove a challenge." the tall blonde woman picked her group.
"I'll follow the maroon haired slayer. That group seems like the kind of trouble that will need my magic sooner or later." The tall male stated, rolling his head to pop his neck.
"Guess that leaves me with the aerial group and the red haired chick, maybe it'll work out for me. Wierd that you guys all seem to be avoiding that meeting. It will be easiest for me to keep track of them anyway once they take to the sky." The bi-colored eyed male shrugged his shoulders with acceptance. Their groups picked, the group of five split up, slipping into the shadows and night quietly.
××Overkill Fieldtrip××
Racer had offered to scout ahead, but Laxus held his little team together as they trailed up and down the eastern slopes of the mountains. They were in enemy territory right now as far as he was concerned and that meant you stay close to your party. It was logical. They weren't familiar with the territory and didn't know what kinds of wizards they might come across.
They had appointed team leaders before the big group split. No-one even questioned the fact that he, Jellal, and Erza would lead their teams. Natsu and Gray had faught over who would hold the authority between them until Angel smashed their heads together and declared that they would shut up and she would lead. He had personally expected a similar fight between Cobra and Midnight. Cobra however, had bestowed that honor on a bewildered Lucy and woken Midnight up enough to agree with him.
His response to the question of 'why' from Natsu had been 'she has a conscience'. No-one knew how to respond to that. So here he was, wandering around the wilderness with two wizards he didn't know. One of them wouldn't shut up and the other one wouldn't hold still. Really it wasn't all that different fron working with Evergreen and Bickslow. He shoved his soundpods on and ignored them. He focused instead on the feeling of being watched that he couldn't shake. He hadn't found where it was coming from yet, but he knew something was out there. Eyes and ears could be fooled by illusions, but he trusted his nose. So far all he could smell was trees and earth, the occasional forest animal and sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine.
Which had him confused as hell since it was well after dark, and looking up he could see stars winking back down at them. Glancing to his right he considered having the small floating totem that had been assigned to their group pass a message along to Bix, but at the last moment decided against it. Maybe the smell of sunshine was just coming from the forest itself after having soaked in it all day and so still smelled like it. Even though the sun had been down for about five hours by that time.
Shaking his head, Laxus sent a small bolt at Racer when a grumble could be heard about him not going on ahead yet. Hopefully they came across some dark mages soon, he had energy he wanted to let off.
**Overkill Fieldtrip**
He didn't want to be here. He was restless, damn near jumping at shadows, his nerves on edge as his crimson gaze searched the trees and shrubbery around them. He didn't understand it, but something just wasn't sitting right with him. After running into the doom and gloom guild, and agreeing to split up into their own groups to search the area around the temple before heading into it, he felt something pressing in on him and it was driving his instincts nuts.
He was a little surprised that there had been so many powerful wizards gathered, but when he thought about what he had been told about this piece of shit dark guild that was growing far too quickly, he could maybe understand why there were so many of them. So now they were scouting the outer edges of the temple the dark guild was apparently using as their hide out, and he was trying to keep his senses open to everything around him, even as they were going haywire.
Then he saw it. Something in the shadows that shouldn't have been there had Gajeel breaking away from Meredy and Jellal with a silent snarl, ignoring their whispered protests as he dove into the shadows, disappearing quickly. He was even quicker to dodge the sharp blade that flew at him end over end, snapping out his hand to catch it on the fly. The smirk that crossed his face was nothing short of smug and evil as he lifted the blade and bit into the metal...only to let out a heartfelt moan of pure pleasure as the smooth flavor of the knife exploded across his tastebuds and he felt energy rush through him. Against his will he felt his body loosen into muscle melting relaxation, and could only blink when he felt his inner dragon surge forth, slamming into his mental walls with a mix of snarls and purrs.
Well...that was unexpected.
"That's certainly different. Never had someone have that kind of reaction to my knives, at least not after eating them like that." A smooth baritone voice echoed in the shadows around Gajeel, causing him to narrow his eyes as he darted through the darkness, gaze intense in his determination to find the voice.
"Oh, you won't find me handsome. Not unless I come to you. That just might be worth my while though..." The voice whispered, trailing across his skin in a caress that had Gajeels iron scales appearing then disappearing in waves of sensation. He didn't understand why he was having such trouble with his dragon right then.
"Oooh you wouldn't happen to be a dragon slayer would you? And you ate metal...I can only assume you're none other than 'Black Steel Gajeel' right? And to think it's not even my birthday...'
**Overkill Fieldtrip**
'Damn, it's been months since I've seen him, has he gotten even hotter? Is that even possible?'
Cobra had to bite back a laugh as Lucy's inner monolgue whispered through his head, even as she kept sharp eyes on the forest on her side of the path they were walking.
'Fuck it all to hell, I should've gone with one of the other groups, being so close to her right now is torture...and don't you dare fucking laugh Erik, I know you can fucking hear me!'
Cobra had to swallow the laugh building in his throat, turning it into a light cough even as Midnight kept his eyes on his side of the path, his face blank of any emotion. Cobra had ended up in the, some would consider it, unfortunate spot of being between the two mages and was fighting every snarky comment he wanted to say to either of them. They should be happy, he was going completely against his very nature! Hearing a slight tinkling noise, Cobra glanced over to see that Lucy had shifted her hands to her keys strapped to her hip, eyes narrowed, even as the small totem that had come with them balanced on her head.
Seeing her stance shift like that had Cobra opening his senses even more, trying to find what she was looking for when the sharp snap of breaking branches broke the quiet night air, followed by a cursing yelp as Midnight disappeared into a hole not too far ahead of them. The additional snapping sound Cobra heard had him cringing and hurrying to the edge of what they realized was a trap. Fuck! He knew they should've stayed together. Peering over the edge of the hole, Lucy leaned forward to reach down to Midnight, only to have Cobra grip her shoulder as she started to tip too far, almost falling to the hole as well.
"We don't need both of you down in there Tink, can you get one of your spirits to help bring him out?" Cobra asked, his voice still heard clearly even through the colorful curses that were coming from the illusion mage further down. He could see the slight gray pallor to his friends already pale skin, the sheen of sweat starting to slick his skin, and the very awkward angle that his left leg and arm was sitting at. The crunching sound he had heard earlier had been clear enough, but he hoped that it had only been one limb not two that had sustained damage. How the fuck were they going to do anything with Midnight injured like this?! The faint smell of mint that Cobra had noticed before, but had passed it off as being part of the forest, became stronger, almost like it was concentrated, had Cobra spinning around with a snarl and his claws extending with poison dripping from them.
"Calm down slayer, we're on the same side." A smooth voice brushed over him, causing his eyes to narrow as a tall man with long dark hair and silver eyes appeared before him. Cobra didn't bother to look over his shoulder at Lucy as he heard her mentally call for Virgo, a mere brush of her fingers over the needed key being enough to summon her. He hadn't realized that she had gotten that strong, and could silently admit he was impressed. Barely a moment later had Midnight's labored breathing get louder as he was carefully set down next to Cobra, before Virgo straightened, and with a rare show of emotion, launched herself at the newcomer.
"Virgo? Dear gods, Virgo!" The man laughed, catching the spirit in his arms and spinning her around in delight before setting her back on her feet. The chains that hung from her wrists clinked quietly as she turned back to their group.
"Virgo? You know this guy?"
"Indeed I do. It's alright Princess, Master Cristoff is the lunar dragon slayer, he'll be able to help your friend with his injuries as well." The maid spirit said with a bow. The answering sigh from the man, Cristoff, behind her was answer enough even as he stepped forward.
"We've gone over this before Virgo, I am not your master, I am your friend, and I can only assume this is the infamous Princess Lucy that I've heard so much about." Cristoff said with a smile.
"Indeed it is Master Cristoff." Virgo confirmed with another nod.
"Enough with the chitchat, we've gotta find a way to get Midnight some help, unless you've missed that he's currently injured!" Cobra snarled, his hands curling into fists. He hated this feeling of to his friend, he was a touch surprised to see Lucy already kneeling next to Midnight on his right side, holding his hand and running soothing fingers through dual colored hair.
"That won't be a problem, Mister Erik." Virgo stated flately. Before Cobra could snarl at her for the use of his given name, she continued. "Being the lunar dragon slayer, son of Nurem who is mate to Draco the celestial dragon, Cristoff has healing abilities, ones that go far beyond even what Miss Wendy can do."
Seeing the shocked gazes the three other mages gave him, Cristoff merely shrugged with a smirk before lifting glowing hands and coming closer.
**Overkill Fieldtrip**
"There are too many birds." These were the first words spoken since they split from the larger group.
"Seriously, man? Too many birds? What does that even mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I wasn't speaking in code or in another language, Bickslow."
"Well, you do have a tendency to do th-"
"What is it that bothers you about the birds, Freed?" Erza cut Bickslow off with a roll of her eyes.
"There are too many willing to come close to us. Normally wildlife would steer clear of humans in their territory. These seem to be watching us. I'm concerned that we may be under observation by the enemy."
"Guys?"
"That is quite concerning."
"Hey, Freed?"
"Indeed. It may no longer be wise to remain air-borne."
"Erza?"
"I see what you mean. It leaves us vulnerable if they are aware of our presence."
"Oh, for the love of.. Guys! Hello!"
"What is it, Bickslow?"
"Not an enemy, that's for sure."
"What makes you say that?" Freed asked with crossed arms. Bix pointed to the hummingbird hovering in front of him.
"Enemies don't try to get your attention when you start getting suspicious." They watched the little green bird for a moment. It hovered. Zipped a few feet toward the ground, came back and repeated the motion. "I think we are supposed to follow it." The rest of the flying creatures around them dispersed with those words, though the hummingbird remained.
"So we follow the bird then." Erza followed the bird this time, Bickslow and Freed following her. She would have drawn her sword on the man they found if it hadn't been for his very peaceful demeanor and Bickslow's reaction to his presence. She heard her teammate facepalm more than saw it since the man was behind her and wearing a metal visor.
"The fuck are you doing in Fiore man?" He punched his shoulder. One of those 'guy' things Erza still didn't understand.
"Master Kaleb sent us to deal with the problem you are apparently already dealing with."
"Us?"
"Cristoff and your sisters."
"Both of them?"
"Xally is on a holiday break and he told Cris she needed a break. Course somebody happened to see us leaving in the middle of the night and decided to come along too."
"Vander. That sneaky little shit. Where the hell are they?"
"We split up to follow you guys. Cris said we weren't getting involved unless we needed to."
"Bickslow? Are you going to introduce us?"
"Right, Sorry. Erza, this is Beck, a beastmaster mage. He is a member of the White Sea guild. Apparently half my fucking family is here and they didn't feel the need to tell me. Beck this is Erza Scarlett, one of our S-class wizards a master of requip magic."
"A pleasure to meet you, Beck."
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Erza. It's nice to see you again, Freed.
"Likewise. It has been some time since Bickslow brought us to visit upon our return from Tenrou island."
"I'll let you guys get back to your search pattern. I just wanted to let you know I was here so you didn't attack me since my birds were making you nervous. I'll keep an eye on you from down here though if you don't mind."
"I have no objections to that. Come boys." Erza launched herself into the air, followed by Freed.
"Duty calls man. Don't let my worthless brothers leave without saying anything." He hopped on his baby and took off. "My sisters either!" Beck chuckled.
"Wouldn't dream of it." He then mumbled to himself. "Not that I could stop them. Xally maybe, but that chick is terrifying if you get on her bad side."
**Overkill Fieldtrip**
Their bickering was going to drive her up the closest tree, she swore to all of the heavens above her. She certainly had a newfound respect for her fellow celestial mage. She put up with Midnight and Cobra all of the time, and these two, who were as different as fire and ice, literally, made her appreciate her two guildmates all the more now. She wasn't sure how Lucy had managed to last as long as she had with these two and not go insane.
She was going to treat Lucy to a glass- her thoughts were cut off as the bickering increased- scratch that, she was going to treat Lucy to an entire bottle of wine at this point, maybe even a good lunch. How Lucy had managed to maintain her sunny disposition being around these two for so long, she had no idea, and obviously needed lessons from the other woman.
"Would you stop your whining already flame-tard?!"
"What was that icicle dick?!"
"You heard me! Your constant whining is grating on my nerves! We're supposed to be looking quietly and your whining is going to give us away!"
"Well good! I hope that it does! Just walking around is boring, I wanna fight already! Fight me Gray!"
"Hell no asshole! I want to be prepared unlike some idiots!"
"Who the hell are you calling an idiot?!"
"You've just proved my point when you can't even tell who I'm talking about!"
Letting out a mental groan, Angel reached out, grabbed two different ears and slammed the pink haired head against the black haired head, taking satisfaction in the yelps of pain that came from them before she let them drop to the ground to rub at the abused spots on their aching heads.
"Are you two done flirting now or do we need to pull out a picnic for you two to have a date and discuss the obvious attraction you two have for each other?" Angel whisper demanded, fisting her hands on her hips and narrowing her gaze on the two men before her. If she hadn't been paying such close attention, she likely would've missed it.
The way Natsu's cheeks turned a bright pink, eyes full of fear as they shot up to her, then to Gray before focusing on some shrubbery to the side of their path, even as Gray denied what she said.
"Flirting with that flame asshole?! Hell no! What the hell do you take me for?!" Gray fumed shooting to his feet, hands closed tightly at his sides, not noticing the frost that was starting to creep from his hands. The flaming fist that slammed into his cheek suddenly had Gray cursing and stumbling to the side before he turned to see Natsu storming off, his entire body engulfed in flames. The heat pumping off of him was enough to cause nearby trees and shrubbery to start to smolder, nearly catching flame before Gray used a mist of ice to cool the smoking embers before they followed after him. They had only just managed to cover about twelve yards, following the curve in the path where Natsu had disappeared around a moment before when Natsu's overly warm hand caught Gray in the chest and stopped them in their tracks.
Angel was just about to snap something at him when he lifted his hand, pointing to his ear, and she knew they needed to be quiet. Sure enough, she watched as he crouched slightly and started easing forward, hands lighting once more. Gray was quick to follow, his own hands beginning to frost over again as he followed Natsu in silence. Narrowing her eyes on them, Angel took mental note of how they worked together, so seamlessly as long as they werent bickering, to speak with Cobra about later, and followed after them, her steps light and sure just like theirs were.
She was damn near holding her breath when Natsu put on a burst of speed and darted around a large tree, a flaming fist landing with surety, and a yelp being heard clearly. Exchanging a quick glance, Gray and Angel followed quickly, and she found her eyes rolling when she saw a man with his dick hanging out, stretched out on the ground and rubbing an aching spot on his jaw. Barely a moment passed before the man was lurching to his feet with a snarl.
This of course didn't last long when the man launched himself at Natsu only to be slammed into by a wall of ice and pinned to the tree that he had been relieving himself on, the ice spreading around the tree completely to trap him.
"Dammit Ice princess this one was mine!"
"Knock it off flame for brains, if we'd left him to you we wouldn't get the information we need to get into their hide out." Gray huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned back against a near by tree. A moment later had Gray staggering in place with a curse as a magical bullet shot through his shoulder, his arm immediately going numb. Spinning around with a snarl, Natsu immediately let a roar go, not noticing or really caring as the plant life went up in flames instantly, drving the man who had attacked them from between the trees. Staying near the trapped in ice mage, Angel made sure he didn't try to call out to anyone else, even as she watched the fight ensue between Natsu and the other dark mage.
"We should've realized that if there was a dark mage taking a piss then there was likely back up close by." Angel muttered, gritting her teeth even as the coppery smell of blood teased her nose. Glancing over at Gray who had decided to post himself on the other side of the trapped mage, she saw the blood dripping down his arm even as he cupped a hand over the wound and iced it over. "Are you going to be alright over there? That looks pretty bad."
"I'll be fine until we can get to a healer, we have a job to finish first. I'm honestly surprised that Natsu didn't smell the other mage when we got here." Gray stated, hissing through his teeth as the ice quickly numbed the pain pulsing from his shoulder. He couldn't feel the rest of his arm below the wound and he knew that wasn't exactly good. He hated that to keep it from getting further damaged he may have to have Natsu cauterize the damn thing. His ice could only do so much after all. Not even five minutes later had Natsu coming back, dragging an unconscious mage behind him before he tossed the limp body to the feet of the mage still pinned to the tree.
Seeing the exasperated looks that Angel and Gray gave Natsu as they looked from him to the raging fire behind him, he shrugged a bit sheepishly, getting ready to turn and inhale what flames he could when the first ribbon of water appeared. They all fell back into battle stances when more water rose from the nearby creek to douse the runaway fire.
"Are you some kind of special idiot? Can you not control yourself? How many allies would die in a forest fire, huh?!" A soft female voiced snapped as a new mage strode forward, shoving her way between doused bushes, glaring at the mages who were watching her closely. "Oh stand down all of you, damn. I'm on your side. Be glad I am too, otherwise I'm not sure how Laxus would take hearing you let something like this happen."
"Who the hell are you?" Angel demanded shifting to put herself a bit further in front of Gray. Suspecting what she had seen between the fire and ice mages she didn't want to chance things going from bad to worse if something happened to Gray. There were some benefits to having a dragon slayer for a teammate, she learned all sorts of things to keep an eye out for when it came to their moods.
"A friend. My name's Xally, younger sister to Bickslow, water mage, and healer, so if you can smooth your hackles, I can heal that shoulder wound." Xally stated with a nod to Gray. Seeing Natsu spin towards the dark haired mage, she didn't miss the nearly quiet whimper that escaped him.
"What the fuck happened?!" Natsu demanded, striding over to trace surprisingly gentle fingers along the edge of the ice that was currently protecting the wound. He completely ignored it when Gray lifted a hand to his face and groaned.
"You idiot! I got shot by the mage that you just knocked the fuck out!"
"Alright boys, before we start this again, lets get Gray healed, and then we can get the information needed to get into the guilds hide out. I see you have one of my brothers babies. Can you let Daddy Bix know that we're going to need him baby?" Xally rolled her eyes before easing closer, lifting softly glowing hands to the shoulder that Gray released his ice on. He didn't notice how much care Xally exercised, nor the careful eye she kept on the narrow eyed Natsu who was standing fairly close.
Moments after Xally finished with Gray's shoulder a cackling Bickslow dropped out of the sky to swoop her into a spinning hug. The arrival of the aerial team distracted a hovering Natsu just enough that Gray didn't notice he had been hovering in the first place. Bickslow however, being far more observant than people generally gave him credit for, noticed and wondered to himself if this mission would be the one that pushed one of them to the breaking point.
Natsu found Beck's magic fascinating, especially given the effect it had on the dragon within him, a slight pull and general soothing calm. Gray instantly disliked the man, though he couldn't have said why if asked. He didn't say anything of course, but it was obvious to several of the little group. Angel snickered at him, but refused to say what she found so amusing. When a dark haired man literally popped out of the shadows he was almost attacked, accept Bickslow gave a happy shout and tackled him to the ground and wrestled him into a headlock
"Vander, you little shit. Kaleb's gunna be pissed you snuck off again, but damn I'm glad to see you!" Vander dissapeared only to show back up leaning against a tree and grinning.
"Trust me, bro, I'm very glad to be here. This trip is looking like it will be all sorts of fun."
"Your type of fun always gets somebody in trouble." Xally grumbled, proven apparently correct when a very distressed Gajeel appeared out of the shadows. The growl he sent at the other shadow mage said he was not happy with him. His guildates could clearly read confusion in his eyes though. Vander smirked and flicked a newly manifest knife at Gajeel's head. He caught it and glared at the thing as if it were a poisonous snake, before shoving it in his pocket. Vander made an exaggerated pouty face before smirking again.
"Saving my gift for later, huh handsome?" Gajeel hissed at him. Erza looked appalled. Xally facepalmed.
"This isn't Bosco, Van." Bickslow sounded aggravated. "You can't just..." He blinked at looked back and forth between the two. "Oh... Well, this is just fucking fantastic, really. Could this get any more complicated?" Jellal flew in with Meredy just in time for her to hear that comment and add her own.
"Aren't they just adorable!" Gajeel growled at her and Natsu cracked up laughing. Gray looked from his hysterical teammate, who had collapsed onto the ground, up to where Gajeel was twitching and obviously thinking of killing his fellow dragon slayer.
"I don't get it." Angel patted him on the head.
"We know."
××Overkill Fieldtrip××
To be continued